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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Voadam" data-source="post: 9456278" data-attributes="member: 2209"><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/198983/Game-Masters-Guide-to-Kaidan?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">Game Master's Guide to Kaidan</a>Pathfinder 1eEmperor Taira no Anotku, Antoku, The Eternal Emperor, The Undying Emperor, Undead Emperor, Undying Boy: When, at the last, it became clear that the battle was hopeless, the young emperor was cradled in the arms of his grandmother, Tokiko, who, like her late husband, was a follower of the Dark Wheel school of Zaoism. Gathering with all the exiled Imperial Court, and all her loyal hand-maidens, she prepared to cast herself and her grandson into the sea. Yet before she leapt, she uttered forth a dreadful curse. While the exact wording of the curse has been lost to time, it is known that she cursed the world and all the gods therein for allowing events to transpire as they had. She cursed both heaven and hell and shouted aloud for all to hear, “Would that my grandson would reign for a thousand years.” Then she and all those with her, including many of the remaining Taira warriors, sacrificed themselves to the sea.So dreadful was the curse, and so potent was the sacrifice, that the sun grew dim for seven days. For seven days oni poured forth into the world. For seven days, death would not come for any man. For seven days, a mist roiled up from the watery mass grave of the Taira, covering all the islands and the ocean thereabout. It was a dread and awful time, but what happened afterward was worse. At the end of the week, the gates of Jigoku slammed shut once more and the gates of Yomi, the realm of the dead, were reopened. The Imperial Court, rejoined by a resurrected Kiyomori, rose from the depths of the sea and sailed to Fukuhara-kyo where they bloodily slew all those Minamoto they found, reclaiming the Imperial throne.Seii Tai Shogun Taira no Kiyomori, Undead Shogun: When, at the last, it became clear that the battle was hopeless, the young emperor was cradled in the arms of his grandmother, Tokiko, who, like her late husband, was a follower of the Dark Wheel school of Zaoism. Gathering with all the exiled Imperial Court, and all her loyal hand-maidens, she prepared to cast herself and her grandson into the sea. Yet before she leapt, she uttered forth a dreadful curse. While the exact wording of the curse has been lost to time, it is known that she cursed the world and all the gods therein for allowing events to transpire as they had. She cursed both heaven and hell and shouted aloud for all to hear, “Would that my grandson would reign for a thousand years.” Then she and all those with her, including many of the remaining Taira warriors, sacrificed themselves to the sea.So dreadful was the curse, and so potent was the sacrifice, that the sun grew dim for seven days. For seven days oni poured forth into the world. For seven days, death would not come for any man. For seven days, a mist roiled up from the watery mass grave of the Taira, covering all the islands and the ocean thereabout. It was a dread and awful time, but what happened afterward was worse. At the end of the week, the gates of Jigoku slammed shut once more and the gates of Yomi, the realm of the dead, were reopened. The Imperial Court, rejoined by a resurrected Kiyomori, rose from the depths of the sea and sailed to Fukuhara-kyo where they bloodily slew all those Minamoto they found, reclaiming the Imperial throne.Tokiko, Undying Grandmother: When, at the last, it became clear that the battle was hopeless, the young emperor was cradled in the arms of his grandmother, Tokiko, who, like her late husband, was a follower of the Dark Wheel school of Zaoism. Gathering with all the exiled Imperial Court, and all her loyal hand-maidens, she prepared to cast herself and her grandson into the sea. Yet before she leapt, she uttered forth a dreadful curse. While the exact wording of the curse has been lost to time, it is known that she cursed the world and all the gods therein for allowing events to transpire as they had. She cursed both heaven and hell and shouted aloud for all to hear, “Would that my grandson would reign for a thousand years.” Then she and all those with her, including many of the remaining Taira warriors, sacrificed themselves to the sea.So dreadful was the curse, and so potent was the sacrifice, that the sun grew dim for seven days. For seven days oni poured forth into the world. For seven days, death would not come for any man. For seven days, a mist roiled up from the watery mass grave of the Taira, covering all the islands and the ocean thereabout. It was a dread and awful time, but what happened afterward was worse. At the end of the week, the gates of Jigoku slammed shut once more and the gates of Yomi, the realm of the dead, were reopened. The Imperial Court, rejoined by a resurrected Kiyomori, rose from the depths of the sea and sailed to Fukuhara-kyo where they bloodily slew all those Minamoto they found, reclaiming the Imperial throne.Undead, Yurei, Undead Creature, Actual Undead, The Dead, The Unquiet Dead, Restless Dead: Because of tenmei, dead nobles could only reincarnate into noble families. Yet the many deaths of the nobles, coupled with the undead nature of the rest, meant that there were not enough noble bodies into which the spirits of the nobles could be reborn so that, subsequently, even those that were slain often returned as undead spirits, ghosts and ghouls.When a soul in Kaidan departs the body, and enters Yomi, it must typically wait for 7 days before once more entering the world of the living, seeking a new form. Not all souls go to Yomi, nor do all souls leaving Yomi always find a suitable host body. In both cases the soul becomes a yurei, one of the undead.When a character dies and has the option of being reincarnated [in Kaidan], use Table 7.4 to determine the method of reincarnation. About 1 in 10 times the character will be unable to be immediately brought back. Characters that think to abuse the ability to be reincarnated will eventually find themselves truly gone, or worse, they will become a yurei and haunt their former companions.Player characters who should be reborn as nobles [in Kaidan] instead become yurei, unable to be appeased in any way.PC Reincarnation Following a Violent Death [in Kaidan] 05-10.Kaidan is a land where men are beset on all sides by horror. Demons and monsters fill the dark forests and lurk in the shadows of the mountains. The dead do not rest easy and the undead control the seats of power.Vault of Flesh spell.Dread Yurei, Malevolent Undead Spirit: Yet, the curse had a far more reaching consequence, one with greater scope for tragedy. Within Kaidan, the process of soul creation and migration, so common to all the multiverse, had come to a halt. No new souls were being made in Kaidan and no souls could leave Kaidan for the hereafter. Those that died spent a brief period of time in Yomi, typically seven days, and were then forcefully reborn in accordance with the doctrine of Zaoist reincarnation. Thus, not even death could serve as a true release from the growing horrors of Kaidan.As time progressed, more and more of those who died within Kaidan, including yokai and korobokuru alike, were reborn, not as babes, but as dread yurei: malevolent undead spirits.Yurei Spirit: ?Malevolent Yurei: The pain of death causes the character to be reformed as a malevolent yurei within 1d4 days of their death.Undead Overlord: ?Undead Servant: ?Undead Ruler: ?Undead Foe: ?Undead Daimyo: ?Undead Noble: ?Undead Chieftan: ?Undead Spirit: Because of tenmei, dead nobles could only reincarnate into noble families. Yet the many deaths of the nobles, coupled with the undead nature of the rest, meant that there were not enough noble bodies into which the spirits of the nobles could be reborn so that, subsequently even those that were slain often returned as undead spirits, ghosts and ghouls.Undead Kin: ?Undead Minion: ?Undead Fiend: ?Lord Nijoioji no Dainomoto, The Wandering Daimyo, Powerful Undead Necromancer: ?Undead Warrior: ?Lord Taira no Noritsune: When, at the last, it became clear that the battle was hopeless, the young emperor was cradled in the arms of his grandmother, Tokiko, who, like her late husband, was a follower of the Dark Wheel school of Zaoism. Gathering with all the exiled Imperial Court, and all her loyal hand-maidens, she prepared to cast herself and her grandson into the sea. Yet before she leapt, she uttered forth a dreadful curse. While the exact wording of the curse has been lost to time, it is known that she cursed the world and all the gods therein for allowing events to transpire as they had. She cursed both heaven and hell and shouted aloud for all to hear, “Would that my grandson would reign for a thousand years.” Then she and all those with her, including many of the remaining Taira warriors, sacrificed themselves to the sea.So dreadful was the curse, and so potent was the sacrifice, that the sun grew dim for seven days. For seven days oni poured forth into the world. For seven days, death would not come for any man. For seven days, a mist roiled up from the watery mass grave of the Taira, covering all the islands and the ocean thereabout. It was a dread and awful time, but what happened afterward was worse. At the end of the week, the gates of Jigoku slammed shut once more and the gates of Yomi, the realm of the dead, were reopened. The Imperial Court, rejoined by a resurrected Kiyomori, rose from the depths of the sea and sailed to Fukuhara-kyo where they bloodily slew all those Minamoto they found, reclaiming the Imperial throne.When the Emperor arose from his watery grave, Noritsune was one of those who arose with him.Undead Samurai: ?Kagayakyou, Kaikou, Undead Necromancer, Ancient Necromancer: Many shrines and temples have been built on the slopes of Sumisan, the most famous being the Temple of Kaikou, who introduced Kuraikuruma to Kaidan. While Kaikou long ago passed the reigns of the temple on to his successors, his name is yet venerated within the temple that bears his name, and it is taught they he did not die, but instead ascended into the perfect state of undeath.Undead Lord: ?Undead Oni: ?Strange Abomination: ?Flesh-Eating Undead, Flesh Eating Undead: ?Undead Who Preys on Other Undead: ?Multi-Eyed, Multi-Limbed Fanged Horror: ?Corporeal Undead: ?Mindless Undead: Whereas, in other lands, it is sometimes possible for a body to have conflicting souls sharing the same body, the metaphysical nature of Kaidan makes this impossible. Bodies can possess only a single soul at a time. Any magical effect or supernatural ability which allows a soul to possess a body, of necessity drives away the original occupant, in effect killing that individual. This makes such magic and abilities even more dangerous in Kaidan. However there are rites, spells and ceremonies which can recall a soul to its body, if those around the body can manage to dismiss, banish or exorcise the offending spirit. If a body is somehow left soulless it sometimes simply dies. Just as often, a body can reanimate as either a mindless undead or as a tamashanaki.The Tormented: These are those yurei trapped between lives, either by the vagaries of tenmei or else by their own personal tragedies.Powerful Undead: ?Non-Noble Undead: ?Supernatural Threat: ?Undead Demon: ?Evil Monstrosity: ?Two Headed Undead Wolf: ?Ghost: Because of tenmei, dead nobles could only reincarnate into noble families. Yet the many deaths of the nobles, coupled with the undead nature of the rest, meant that there were not enough noble bodies into which the spirits of the nobles could be reborn so that, subsequently even those that were slain often returned as undead spirits, ghosts and ghouls.These are those yurei trapped between lives, either by the vagaries of tenmei or else by their own personal tragedies. Strengthened by the same negative energies which give birth to the jikininki, these yurei exist as ghosts, wraiths and haunts.Ghost, Horror, Tormented: ?Goryo, Noble Ghost, Beneficient Spirit: Another religious movement within Kaidan is goryo shinko, the worship of “noble ghosts.” A sub-cult of the imperial yokinto shrines, the doctrine is based on the idea that the dead can be venerated and, through that veneration, encouraged to become protectors of the living. Angry spirits of the dead are called onryo and are rightly feared. Through proper worship and rituals, these onryo, it is believed, can be turned to goryo, beneficent spirits.Lord Mizawa Matashirokata, True Ghost: Lord Mizawa is a true ghost, incorporeal and only partially dwelling in the present. Having murdered his family before taking his own life, his days are spent replaying the argument he had with his oldest son concerning loyalty to the Shogun, an argument that escalates into the grisly reenactment, each night, of his families demise. Ochoka, Ghost: A hundred and seventy years ago, a bandit king named Ochoka waged war upon the forces of the daimyo, but was ultimately crushed.Nakashima Ren, Ghost: The Kinogasa-taisha shrine in Kinogasa is haunted. Nakashima Ren, the Yokinto priest who initiated the failed rebellion, over 90 years previously, now dwells within the shrine grounds.Ghost of a Child: ?Ghoul: Because of tenmei, dead nobles could only reincarnate into noble families. Yet the many deaths of the nobles, coupled with the undead nature of the rest, meant that there were not enough noble bodies into which the spirits of the nobles could be reborn so that, subsequently even those that were slain often returned as undead spirits, ghosts and ghouls.A samurai wight-lord, Hakato Munimasanoke, once sworn to serve the daimyo’s husband, has been stealing bodies for years, burying them in the cursed soil of the forest so that they rise as zombies and ghouls under his control.Ghoul, Horror, Tormented: ?Aquatic Ghoul: ?Lord Kinja no Dakishi, Ghoulish Man, Daimyo: ?Daimyo Lord Sengawa no Kenjuro, human ghoul lord cleric 10: ?Chief Enforcer Gogakiko, human ghoul fighter 4/Rogue 3: ?Ghoulish Samurai: ?Kumo Gaki, Spider Ghoul: Kumo gaki, or spider ghouls are a flesh-eating undead unique to Kaidan, and over the last four hundred years have spread across the archipelago so that they may be found almost anywhere, preferring in the main to lair in caves and rocky crevices. Lady Taira is the first of these creatures and it was she who first spawned others of her kind.Lady Taira no Heimasami, The Spider-Queen, Kumo Gaki, Multi-Eyed Multi-Limbed Fanged Horror: ?Ghoul Jikininki: Negative energy strongly permeates the spiritual fabric of Kaidan and when evil men die, or when bodies are not properly treated following death, it is common for those bodies to reanimate in ghoulish form.Strengthened by the same negative energies which give birth to the jikininki, these yurei exist as ghosts, wraiths and haunts.At the shrine, he once more encountered the priest, now injured, and quite penitent. “In my life,” explained the ashamed priest, “I served that village, but I was a wicked priest and abused my position. Now that I am dead, I am cursed to dwell as a jikininki, feasting on the flesh of men.”Ghoul Jikininki, Flesh-Eating Undead: ?Haunt: These are those yurei trapped between lives, either by the vagaries of tenmei or else by their own personal tragedies. Strengthened by the same negative energies which give birth to the jikininki, these yurei exist as ghosts, wraiths and haunts.Haunt, Tormented: ?Daimyo Lord Ashikuma, Lord Taira no Hatchiborimaro, Human Lich Wizard 16: ?Lord Shimoshika no Shimoutako, Lich: ?Daimyo Lord Sugasora no Harumori, Human Lich Wizard 13: ?Lord Inji, Hasatako Inimanoko, Lich, Powerful Spellcaster: ?Lord Daidoiendo no Kinjiromaro, Unique Cleric-Lich, Powerful Spell-Caster: [H]e is a unique cleric-lich, having obtained undeath through divine necromantic means.Lord Hasatanori no Kazukatsumasa: A Zaoist priest and the leading son of a wealthy noble family, Lord Hasatanori was one of the earliest nobles, following the rebirth of the emperor, to embrace undeath. However, his method of choice involved a painful process of self-mummification, and while there is no doubting the power he gained through the ordeal, the aesthetics of the result were less than ideal.Queen Himiko, Undying Shade: ?Shadow-lord, Nagakage no Katsuyorio, Mighty Shadow Lord: ?Shadow, Lesser Shadow, Undead Shadow: Lord Nagakage is a mighty shadow lord, with the ability to control multitudes of lesser shadows. Once a month, he secretly leaves his castle to choose a random victim upon which to feed. The victim, once drained of life, rises as a shadow under the control of Nagakage and further swells the ranks of his minions within and under his island fortress.Shadow, Minion: ?Skeleton: ?Aquatic Skeleton: ?Lord Tando no Masateruyoshi, Undying Man, Spectral Horror: Lord Tando is exactly what he seems to be, an undying man of extreme benevolence, at least during the day. Always possessed of a noble heart, Lord Tando nevertheless, because of his loyalty to his Shogun, sought a means to achieve undeath; though he sought to do this without becoming a monster of death and destruction. He was only partly successful. The ritual by which he and his family crossed over into immortality left them appearing, during the day, exactly as they did in life, albeit possessed of an unnatural vigor powered by negative energies. However, at night, the family transforms into spectral horrors which, escaping the bonds of the palace, enter into Yama-jo to torture and feast upon one of the citizens of the city.Spectral Horror: Lord Tando is exactly what he seems to be, an undying man of extreme benevolence, at least during the day. Always possessed of a noble heart, Lord Tando nevertheless, because of his loyalty to his Shogun, sought a means to achieve undeath; though he sought to do this without becoming a monster of death and destruction. He was only partly successful. The ritual by which he and his family crossed over into immortality left them appearing, during the day, exactly as they did in life, albeit possessed of an unnatural vigor powered by negative energies. However, at night, the family transforms into spectral horrors which, escaping the bonds of the palace, enter into Yama-jo to torture and feast upon one of the citizens of the city.Yukikoshi, Yukikoshe, Wise Spirit: ?Spirit: ?Onryo, Angry Spirit of the Dead: ?Insane Vengeful Spirit: Spiritually, the samurai occupy a rather sad and contradictory place [in Kaidan]. They are warriors, and the business of killing, according to the tenets of yokinto, makes them habitually unclean. Likewise, their conduct as warriors is antithetical to the doctrines of zaoism which says that killing damages the soul and makes one unfit for advancement on the wheel. Even so, tenmei places them into the role of warrior, and they are thus, by divine mandate, called to such a life. Added to this is the sad reality that, even were a samurai to attain enlightenment and advance so that he could be reborn as a noble, the conduct of the nobles has made such advancement impossible. Subsequently, the most noble of the samurai are those also most likely to return from the grave as insane, vengeful spirits trapped between worlds.Restless Spirit of a Slain Samurai: ?Ancestral Spirit: ?Vampiric Pirate Overlord: ?Daimyo Lord Kurashima no Takeshiko, Human Advanced Vampire Necrotic Warrior 20, Ancient Vampire: Lord Kurashima is an ancient vampire who, many years before the curse befell Kaidan, sailed far to the west seeking adventure. In these distant lands he acquired much necromantic knowledge and his vampiric condition.Daimyo Lord Tozaka no Noriyasuko, Human Variant Vampire Samurai 5/Aristocrat 8: ?Undying Zaoist Nun, Feasome Vampiric Monster: ?Lord Minkobushi no Yorinoriharunaga: Like a vampire, the daimyo feeds on blood to maintain his youthful complexion, but he is not a true vampire, lacking both the ability to spawn, but also possessing the ability to move about in sunlight without harm. Rather he is a unique creature, the result of highly successful necromantic experiments which granted him both unlife and the ability to manipulate, channel and control negative energy.True Vampire: ?Undying Noble: ?Undying Lord: ?Unliving Servant: ?Daimyo Lord Hachiwara no Otsuka, Dread Wight Human Wizard 8: ?Hakato Munimasanoke, samurai Wight-Lord: ?Daimyo Lord Ryuumaki, Ryuumakai Tanchiko, Half-Dragon Human Advanced Wight Samurai 12: ?Wraith: These are those yurei trapped between lives, either by the vagaries of tenmei or else by their own personal tragedies. Strengthened by the same negative energies which give birth to the jikininki, these yurei exist as ghosts, wraiths and haunts.Wraith, Tormented: ?Zombie: A samurai wight-lord, Hakato Munimasanoke, once sworn to serve the daimyo’s husband, has been stealing bodies for years, burying them in the cursed soil of the forest so that they rise as zombies and ghouls under his control.Aquatic Zombie: ?Lord Suwanuma no Michitakehiko: When, at the last, it became clear that the battle was hopeless, the young emperor was cradled in the arms of his grandmother, Tokiko, who, like her late husband, was a follower of the Dark Wheel school of Zaoism. Gathering with all the exiled Imperial Court, and all her loyal hand-maidens, she prepared to cast herself and her grandson into the sea. Yet before she leapt, she uttered forth a dreadful curse. While the exact wording of the curse has been lost to time, it is known that she cursed the world and all the gods therein for allowing events to transpire as they had. She cursed both heaven and hell and shouted aloud for all to hear, “Would that my grandson would reign for a thousand years.” Then she and all those with her, including many of the remaining Taira warriors, sacrificed themselves to the sea.So dreadful was the curse, and so potent was the sacrifice, that the sun grew dim for seven days. For seven days oni poured forth into the world. For seven days, death would not come for any man. For seven days, a mist roiled up from the watery mass grave of the Taira, covering all the islands and the ocean thereabout. It was a dread and awful time, but what happened afterward was worse. At the end of the week, the gates of Jigoku slammed shut once more and the gates of Yomi, the realm of the dead, were reopened. The Imperial Court, rejoined by a resurrected Kiyomori, rose from the depths of the sea and sailed to Fukuhara-kyo where they bloodily slew all those Minamoto they found, reclaiming the Imperial throne.Lord Suwanuma was one of the dead raised alongside the emperor and the Shogun, and he takes this fact as evidence of his standing with the shogun.Incorporeal Dead: ?Vault of FleshSchool: necromancy [evil]Level: Cleric 6, Sorcerer/Wizard 6, Witch 6Casting Time: 1 hourComponents: V, S, CRange: touchTarget: one living creatureDuration: One Year, see textSaving Throw: none; Spell Resistance: yesYou bind a soul to a living body, in such a way as to ensure that, should the body be physically slain, the soul will continue to inhabit and animate the body. If the target is slain before the spell duration expires, they rise as an undead within 1d6 rounds. As an undead, the target creature’s HD, hp, BAB and all abilities remain unchanged, except that they now have undead immunities and no Constitution score (All Constitution bonuses are replaced by Charisma bonuses). Upon rising as an undead creature, the creature’s hit points are fully restored. Though the spell has a duration of one year, if the target becomes undead, the effect is permanent, at least until the target is once more slain, at which point the soul leaves the body. Casting this spell requires a gallon of blood as a material component and the blood must be taken from a source of an identical race to the target of the spell.Table 7.4 – PC Reincarnation Following a Violent Deathd100 Effect01-05 A Natural Rebirth05-10 Yurei11-23 Reincarnated in a Tamashanaki24-29 Reincarnated in a Tamashanaki; Altered memories30 Reincarnated in a Tamashanaki; New memories31-84 Reincarnated through Mind-fever85-99 Reincarnated through Mind-fever; Altered memories00 Reincarnated through Mind-fever; New Memories</blockquote>

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